Loose Ends

The recent flooding in Southeast Texas that did so much property damage and killed and scattered livestock also complicated life for those out of the direct reach of the angry, swollen rivers. A market report from Lee County Stockyards, Giddings, thanks consignors for overcoming difficulties to get their cattle to the sale.

"Some of them had to use a tractor to get their cattle out," it notes, adding, "I even heard about one man using a boat."

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Californians, always the first to embrace a fad, voted during the elections this month to ban the sale of horses for human consumption — anywhere.

By a vote of 59.4 percent, the Land of Fruits and Nuts approved a proposition making it a felony for any person to participate in the sale or purchase of a horse or jackass with the intention or knowledge that it will be killed for human consumption. That includes horses shipped outside the state.

We suspect a lot of old, sick horses are going to die an unnecessarily slow and painful death in California.

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The Chicago Mercantile Exchange will begin trading stocker catytle futures and options Nov. 30. Cash settlement of the options will be based on a seven-day weighted average of USDA prices known as the CME Stocker Cattle Index.

Contracts specify 25,000 pounds of 500-599 pound medium No. 1 and medium and large No. 1 steers. Contracts will trade for January, February, March, October, November and December.

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CORRECTION: In a recent article on the R-CALF petition seeking sanctions against Canada and Mexico for alleged improprieties in cattle imports, Livestock Weekly orroneously reported that no Texas organization had joined the effort. The Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas, however, notes that its executive committee voted to support the portion of the petition seeking countervailing duties against Canadian live cattle imports. We regret any confusion this may have caused.